Fun With Research - Old Saybrook Operations, Trains, and Locomotives

If you've read anything on this site so far, you discovered pretty quickly that I'm a sucker for research. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that I want to recreate in miniature this whole lower Connecticut River Valley region as it was in the late 1940s (at least as much as practicable), I'd probably be content with doing research for its own sake.

But as a prototype modeler, research is a means - albeit a fun means - to an end. The modeling provides the catalyst, and most of the reason, for the research. And, in the case of my latest Saybrook/Staging Saga, the research provided, and continues to provide, the catalyst and reason for all the track changes. What started as an idle curiosity while I was doing some incidental research, quickly blossomed to a full-blown dissection of railroad operations in the Saybrook area. I'd already done some pretty comprehensive research on my main focus - Valley Line freight operations - so segueing to Saybrook operations generally was an inevitable evolution.

Before you can have all this fun though, you have to have some primary research material. Fortunately, I've been collecting this information for a while now . . .

Binders full of NHRR prototype information

If you aspire to model a prototype, here's a list of the basic, primary source material you should have in your library:

• Railroad rulebooks (includes critical operating rules)

• Passenger Timetables (includes general, public info on passenger trains)

• Employee Timetables (includes more detailed information on passenger trains)
• Freight & Package Schedules (public info on freight trains)

• Arranged Freight Service books (the employee version, showing detailed info on freight trains and service)
• Engine Assignment Books (I'm still looking for a New Haven one from September, 1947)
• Misc

Under that last "category" would be anything else produced by the railroad that provides information on how it operated. In my case, a real treasure is a report the railroad did in April 20, 1948 showing what every locomotive did that particular day.

While this material can be hard to find - and sometimes expensive when you find it - you could do what I've most often done: purchase the original (no matter what the price), photocopy it, and resell the original to recoup funds for the next purchase. I'm a lot more comfortable thumbing through (and sometimes marking up) copies rather than originals. YMMV

So, what's all this have to do with my Saybrook/Staging Saga? Well, I "hit the books" (see end of post for sources used**) and discovered some really cool information about what a typical "day" would look like on my version of Old Saybrook - not only what trains there were, but what actual locomotives were used(!)

Since my "main actors" are the locals, they'll dictate the period of time I'll operate in Old Saybrook (there's no way I'm going to run a full day of 71 trains!). Originally, I thought I could get by with 3 passenger trains and one through freight, in addition to the two Shore Line locals. I could still do that in a pinch, I suppose. But making the track changes in Saybrook and in the two staging yards should allow me to do the following very interesting schedule.

The activity I model in Old Saybrook would start shortly after noon, with an eastbound passenger train:

• 12:10 - Train #12, the eastbound "Bay State" (NY-Boston), powered by DER-1s (Alco DL-109) #0716 & 0717 towing a parlor car, grill car, and coaches passes through without stopping.
• 12:14 - PDX-2, the New London to Cedar Hill Shore Line local, powered by DEY-5 (Alco S-2) #0604, arrives from the east.
• 12:20 - Train #182, the eastbound "William Penn" (Phila-Boston), powered by DER-1 #0728 tows a parlor car, dining car and coaches, and passes through without stopping.
• 12:26 - Train #11, the westbound "Bay State" (Boston-NY), powered by DER-1s #0739 & 0740 has a parlor car, a dining car (instead of grill car) and coaches, and passes through without stopping.
• 12:35 - PDX-2, having done its switching, including dropping cars for PDX-1, and received its orders, heads north up the Valley Line to East Haddam.
• 12:40 - PDX-1, the Cedar Hill to New London Shore Line local, powered by DEY-5 #0612 arrives from the west.
• 1:10 - PDX-1, having done its switching a leaving cars for PDX-2, departs, continuing eastbound.
• 1:17 - Train #188, the eastbound "Pilgrim" (Phila-Boston), powered by DER-1 #0743 and hauling a parlor car, dining car, and coaches, arrives, makes a station stop, and continues east.
• 1:32 - Train #13, the westbound "42nd Street Express" (Boston-NY), powered by DER-1 #0733 and hauling a parlor car, dining car, and coaches, arrives, makes a station stop, and continues west (depending on the timing, both 188 and 13 could be at the station at the same time).
• 2:07 - Train #14, the eastbound "Bostonian" (NY-Boston), powered by DER-1 #0744 and hauling a parlor, grill, and coaches, passes through without stopping.
• 2:30 - FGB-2, hauling through freight from the PRR and the car floats at Bay Ridge, NY to Boston, and powered by DER-1s #0722 & 0731, passes through eastbound.
• 2:43 - Train #177, the westbound "Senator" (Boston-D.C.), powered by DER-1s #0742 & 0735 and hauling parlors, dining cars, and coaches (likely PRR equipment), arrives, makes a station stop, and continues west.
• 3:05 - Train #22, the eastbound "Yankee Clipper" (NY-Boston), powered by I-5 4-6-4 #1405 and hauling parlor cars, a dining car, a grill car, and coaches (alas, no longer all-parlors) highballs through town.
• 3:22 - Train #23, the westbound "Yankee Clipper" (Boston-NY), powered by DER-1s #0711 & 0752 and hauling parlor cars, a dining car, a grill car, and coaches highballs through town.
• 3:40 - PDX-2 arrives back in Old Saybrook from the Valley Line.
• 4:10 - PDX-2, having finished its switching, departs Saybrook, westbound.
• 4:17 - Train #174, the eastbound "Colonial" (D.C.-Boston), powered by DER-1s #0755 & 0748 and hauling parlors, a dining car, and coaches (likely PRR equipment), arrives, makes a station stop, and continues east.

Thus, endeth the session.

Whew!

Couple of cool things to note:

• A very busy 4 hour period on a typical weekday in Old Saybrook. But considering there were 71 trains in a 24hr period, this level of activity isn't too surprising.
• 10 passenger trains (3 of which make station stops), 1 long through freight, and 2 local freights that swap cars and do local switching.
• LOTS of DL-109s! To be truly prototypical, I'll need 14 different numbers (heh - maybe each loco could have a different number on each side - then I'd only need 7!). Of course, the engine numbers are all based on one particular day (4/20/1948). Substitutions regularly (and will) occur(red)
• One steamer: I-5 #1405, on the Yankee Clipper, no less! (could have been pinch-hitting on 4/20/48)
• Speaking of the Clipper - they pass through Old Saybrook within 17 minutes of each other
• One long through freight, powered by DL-109s
• PRR equipment (both the Senator and the Colonial make an appearance)
• I really need an Engine Assignment Book from before 1948 (preferably Sept. 1946 or 1947). As I noted here, steam was alive and well for a few years after WWII, then quickly declined very fast (all diesel on the Shore Line by spring of 1948).

Hmmm.... I may need even MORE staging than I thought . . .

**Primary sources of NHRR data aggregated:

• Arranged Freight Train Service Book No. 76, September 29, 1946
• Arranged Freight Train Service Book No. 79, April 25, 1948
• Employee Timetable No. 164, September 28, 1947
• Public Timetable, September 28, 1947
• "Locomotive Utilization - Tuesday, April 20, 1948"

Era Creep: A DERS-1b Story

While I remain committed to conveying railroading in the Lower CT River Valley as it was in October, 1947, I've started to vacillate a bit lately and it's my buddy Tom's fault (aided and abetted by my buddy Randy). You see, Tom brought over a recent acquisition to visit - a brand spankin' new Atlas RS-1 in the New Haven's gorgeous delivery scheme. And - frustratingly - it sounded as wonderful as it looked (all that cool Alco burble...)

But no worries - I figured I knew all there was to know about motive power use during my era. And it's true - no RS-1s were used on the Valley Line (or the Air Line either, for that matter) in 1947. But a quick review of the railroad's Engine Assignment Book for April 24, 1949 shows an RS-1 being used on PDX-1 (the Cedar Hill - New London Shoreline Local) the #0669. Worse Even better, Atlas produced the #0669 in that beautiful delivery scheme.

Well now.

What followed was a frantic search on the internets for the now-out-of-production Atlas NHRR #0669. Good news! I found one - for a steeply discounted price! - at TrainWorld and I immediately ordered it. Bad news: Randy was sure - despite what was on TrainWorld's website - that they were actually out of stock. Turned out, Randy was right. TrainWorld called me a few days later (WTH?!) to tell me they no longer had the #0669.

Ah well - "it's not really in my era anyway" I consoled myself. Which is about when Randy stepped in with news that he'd found an 0669 in a local shop. Not quite as discounted, but very much available.

Well, it's not available any more, since I got it.

New Haven Railroad DERS-1b #0669 at Mill Hollow

Interesting sidenote: I'd been surprised to discover #0669 being used on the Shoreline Local, but I shouldn't have been. Turns out I'd mentioned this exact locomotive in a previous post - coincidentally from exactly one year ago today(!). But I'd made a critical error, calling it a New Haven class DEY-5 (S-2) rather than a DERS-1b (RS-1). So all along I'd been assuming that when the lower CT River Valley area was fully dieselized in 1949 it was exclusively the domain of S-1s (on the Valley Local) and S-2s (Air Line & Shoreline locals). Turns out, the area's early diesel era was more interesting than I thought. Suffice it to say, that post has been updated with the correct information %^)

So it looks like I've started down the path of modeling a date range rather than a particular year. It'll still always be October, but during operations you'll know what year it is depending on the motive power that shows up - from fully steam (1947), to a mix of steam and diesel (1948), to fully diesel (1949). That, coincidentally, is a pretty interesting - and very fast - transition: Certainly compelling enough for me to allow just a little bit of era creep and - bonus! - it should also provide some neat variety for my crews to keep them coming back for more.

P.S. while I have great detail on the actual locomotives used in 1948 and 1949, I don't have the same level of detail for my primary year - 1947 - since I don't have an Engine Assignment book from that year. So if you have - or know where I can get - a copy (even a photocopy) please let me know - thanks!

More Steam in the CT Valley - The Air Line in particular

"Long time" readers (heh, if you were around last month, you're already "long time") may recall my post on the End of Steam in the CT Valley wherein I do my best to analyze when diesels arrived in regular service on the Valley & Air Lines.  Based mostly on an Engine Assignment Book and photo evidence of a wrecked 3011 in Dividend, I concluded that the end of steam on the Valley must have been between December 21, 1948 (date of the wrecked 3011) and April 24, 1949 (date of the Engine Assignment Book, showing diesels already assigned).

The window for the end of steam on the Airline was/is a little tighter.  Based on a John Wallace photo from "winter 1949" and knowing that a diesel would be assigned by April 24, 1949 (again, based on the EAB), I concluded that the end of steam had to have been sometime between January/February and April.  Considering the (lack of) snow cover in John's photo, my best guess was March, 1949.

What continued to bother me though was my uncertainty about Leroy Beaujon's photo of 3022 in Canaan in the "Winter of 1949."  I didn't expect that the 3022 did any "traveling" so I concluded that it had been assigned to Canaan after it left the Air Line.  So I figured "Winter of 1949" must've meant "December 1949."

Well, looks like I was mistaken.  According to Tom Curtin (NHRHTA board member and one who's as particular as I am about such things), the 3022 did do some traveling - and got to Canaan much earlier than I thought.  Here's what he wrote (quoting with permission):

"Here’s an addition to your info. The 3022 did some traveling in 1948. It may or may not have been the last steam on the Air Line local but it surely was the most regularly used one near the end. That’s the clear evidence from both John Wallace’s and Kent Cochrane’s photos. I don’t know when it last ran there but I do believe steam ran later on the Air Line than on the Valley (perhaps only a couple of months later but definitely later).

"Lee Beaujon’s photo of 3022 on the Berkshire was taken about the same time, perhaps even the same day, as the derailment of 3011 on the Valley. The story is there was a bad storm on or about 12/20/48 (That’s the snow visible in the 3011 derailment photo) which caused some bad flooding along the Housatonic [River], and water on the tracks. The Berkshire [Line, which goes through Canaan] had been fully dieselized since early January 1948 (almost all RS-2s but an RS-1 did show up). The RS-2s couldn’t run with “wet feet” so to keep some kind of freight going there the RR sent 3022 over for a couple of weeks. That’s when Lee got his photo. Casey Cavanaugh who lived in Cornwall Bridge and was a high school student at the time has recollections of this event too.

"Now … since it is pretty sure that the Air Line was still in steam in the winter of 1949, what ran the Air Line local when 3022 was over on The Berkshire? Well, I have no idea but it could obviously have been another J OR perhaps a 3300 (R-1 4-8-2). A 3300 showed up on the Air Line too."

Hmmm.... Very interesting for sure.  (well, to me anyway).  Tom confirms that steam ran later on the Air line than the Valley line.  I'll have to see if I can find any photos of other J-class mikados working the Air Line toward the end, but we know from photos that 3300s also ran on the Air Line, and John Wallace's recollection was that this was especially true during "stone season."  There was a major trap rock quarry on the Air Line at Reed's Gap (Wallingford/Middlefield) and quarrying took place as long as the ground wasn't frozen and the rock wouldn't freeze in the cars.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this hobby is the research that's involved in modeling a prototype.  There's always some new information to uncover and you can have a lot of fun with all the historical detective work.  While this "breaking news" is best put in the form of a blog post, I'll be updating the "Steam on the CT Valley" page on the website as well (see under "Choosing an Era" in the lefthand column).  That way, this additional piece of the puzzle can be put in its place and provide an ever-clearer picture of what happened on this line almost 70 years ago.

Choosing an Era: The End of Steam in the CT Valley

One of the first things you need to consider when modeling a prototype is what era you intend to model.  There's been much written about this topic by folks much more knowledgeable than I, but the consensus is that the narrower you define your era, the more plausible your efforts will be.  You don't want your steam locomotives pulling Penn Central boxcars, or modern automobiles set in a Victorian scene.

Defining your era can also be one of the most enjoyable research projects for your model railroad, especially if you're really into history.  Why else would it even occur to you what the proper colors of stop signs and mailboxes were in, say, 1947?  The answers to what "normal" folks would probably consider pretty esoteric questions are the puzzle pieces that make up the mosaic of time and place.  And the more questions you ask, and the more answers you get, the more effective you'll be at conveying that sense of time and place and the more convincing your "time machine" will be.

The "era puzzle" includes many pieces, one of the most important of which - on a model railroad at least - is what type of locomotives you include.  There's a reason why the so-called "Transition Era" between steam & diesel power is so popular - you (think you) can have your cake and eat it too and include both types.  But the limits of that era can vary pretty widely depending on your prototype.  And even when you've picked a prototype that includes what you want locomotive-wise, it may be hard to nail down exactly when those locomotives were last used.  That bit of information is essential to defining the outside limit of your era.

I definitely wanted to include steam engines on my representation of the New Haven Railroad's CT Valley line, so determining when steam power was last used is an essential piece of the puzzle for me.  The Valley line was only a lowly branch of a much larger system, so there'd be no fanfare or documentation of "Steam's Final Run" on the line.  I'd have to figure it out myself.  Here's the process I went (and am still going) through.  Hopefully my experience will inspire you to figure out that part of the puzzle for your own project. . .

With the delivery of Alco FAs and RS-2 roadswitchers, the Steam Era on the New Haven Railroad started to close rapidly and by the spring of 1949 diesels had taken over the Valley and Airline locals.  However, it's unclear when precisely the steam era ended in the Connecticut river valley.  Thankfully, railroads generally kept close track of their locomotive use, but the earliest NHRR Engine Assignment book I have is from April 24, 1949.  It shows the following:

• Valley Local (HDX-7): DEY-3 (Alco S-1) #0947
• Airline Local (HDX-12): DEY-5 (Alco S-2) #0606
• Shoreline Local (PDX-2): DEY-5 (Alco S-2) #0612

(PDX-2 was the local freight between New London & Cedar Hill and at the time serviced the south end of the Valley line from Old Saybrook to East Haddam)

So we know steam had to end before 4/24/49.  What else can we deduce?  Well, based on photo evidence and the recollections of John Wallace (who "wrote the book" on the Valley Line - well, the articles at least, in the NHRHTA's Shoreliner magazine), we know that the most common engines used were K-1 class moguls on the Valley line and J-1 class mikados on the Airline.

According to John, K-1 #466 was the last mogul in use on the Valley line, supplanted by J-1s before the line was dieselized.  He should know - that's him holding down the fireman's box on the 466 below in March of 1948.

Valley Local southbound crossing the Little River from Cromwell to Middletown
Kent Cochrane photo from the Shoreliner Vol. 22 #4, p. 35

That narrows our "End of Steam in the Valley" to between March, 1948 and April, 1949.  But a year is still a pretty large window.  Now, here's an interesting image:

John Wallace collection.

This shows NHRR J-1 mikado #3011 on the Valley Local derailed at Belamose Avenue in Rocky Hill (Dividend), CT.  According to John Wallace, who recalls this derailment, it occurred sometime in 1948, but he wasn't sure when.  He's also pretty sure that this derailment spelled the end of steam engine service on the line, or was pretty close to it.  The snow on the ground says it's winter, but it is unlikely to be winter 1948 since we know K-1 moguls were still being used in March, 1948.  It could be as late as winter 1949, but no later since we know diesels were on-line by April '49.

You'd think the photographer - especially a photographer as meticulous as John - would know precisely when the photograph was taken.  But I just recently found out, even though it's in his collection, John's not the photographer(!).  Turns out, he got the photo from the Hartford Courant after he saw it printed in the paper.

Well now.

Every Thursday night, a bunch of us get together to catalog the NHRHTA's Photo Library for Shoreliner authors and other Association publications.  One of the guys that comes to help out is a professional researcher - Bob Belletzkie (of Tyler City Station fame.).  If the Courant printed the photo in the paper, there would be a date.  Using his research skills and digging through the archives, Bob found the article (actually only a photo and caption) and got the date for us: December 21, 1948.

So the end of steam on the Valley occurred sometime between December 21, 1948 and April 24, 1949.  I may never know the precise date of the last run of steam, but since I plan on modeling Autumn, I now know I can go as late as Autumn 1948.  Since I want to use moguls on the Valley local, the latest I can go is Autumn 1947.  And that's where I ended up.

But I'm still curious to know when the last steam ran, so if anybody has any additional information that could narrow that window of time further - most especially an Engine Assignment Book from before 4/24/49 - please let me know.

So that's the Valley line (so far...) - what about the Airline?  Looks like steam lasted there just a little longer.  Here's another Kent Cochrane photo, this one of the Airline local westbound at Middlefield, CT in April, 1948:

From the Shoreliner Vol. 22 #4 p. 31

And check out this photo John Wallace shot of the same local in the winter of 1949:

New Haven J-1 #3022 on the Airline Local eastbound at Rockfall, CT

And here's the same locomotive in Canaan, CT also in the "winter of 1949," according to Leroy Beaujon (who kindly loaned the photo):

New Haven J-1 #3022 at Canaan, CT.  Leroy Beaujon photo.

Did the 3022 leave the Airline temporarily and get put on a Canaan-area local before going back?  Seems unlikely, and until we get an earlier Engine Assignment book, we may not know for sure.  But we can draw a few inferences (assuming the photo captions are accurate).  "Winter of 1949" could technically mean anything from December 1948 through February 1949 - or even December 1949.  Canaan can get some early snow and it holds on longer, and John's color photo looks very much like late-winter in central Connecticut (notice the melting snow patches).

Seeing these two images together, and knowing diesel #0606 would be assigned by April, it looks most likely that John's photo is of one of the last (if not, in fact, the last) runs of steam on the Airline - perhaps January/February 1949.  If that's true, then Leroy's shot is probably of the engine after it left the Airline for a new assignment in Canaan, perhaps as early as Jan/Feb '49 but more likely December of that year.  In any event, my chosen era of Autumn 1947 is well within the period of time the 3022 was used on the Airline local.

If you've read this far, then you likely appreciate the work fun involved in answering the myriad of questions that present themselves when choosing an era and enjoy seeing how all the puzzle pieces fit - once you actually have the pieces in hand, of course.  But as fun as the process can be, the better and more efficient we become, the more authentic our efforts will be.  So if you have any tips or suggestions of methods you think work better, or what's worked well for you, let us know in the comments below!